


Send Noodz

by LizzieHarker



Series: The Arrowsverse [33]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Clint Barton, Discussions of sexuality, Fluff and Humor, Gay Pride, Gen, Humor, M/M, POV Bucky Barnes, Pride, Sexual Humor, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-23 02:12:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19141498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzieHarker/pseuds/LizzieHarker
Summary: Buck held Steve’s hand tight as they made their way through the crowd, glitter and confetti raining down at all angles, cheers and laughter echoing through the street. Natasha had tried to talk them into marching in parade—which they absolutely refused to do—but after promising to buy her lunch, she backed off, smirking like she had something up her sleeve.Clint and Nat, however, were currently nowhere to be found. Bucky checked the name of the bagel shop they’d stopped at, double checked the street signs, then pulled his phone out of his pocket. No messages. “You said one, right?” he asked, pulling Steve onto the stoop beside him.“Yeah.” Steve turned to do his own survey of the milling masses. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”“Ah! Or they’ll find us.” Bucky jerked a thumb at a familiar redhead wrapped around a tall blond. Natasha’s legs encircled Clint’s waist, one arm around his neck and her free hand shielding her eyes as she scanned the crowd.





	Send Noodz

Buck held Steve’s hand tight as they made their way through the crowd, glitter and confetti raining down at all angles, cheers and laughter echoing through the street. Natasha had tried to talk them into marching in parade—which they absolutely refused to do—but after promising to buy her lunch, she backed off, smirking like she had something up her sleeve. It was far too easy. They fully expected payback after inviting their friends out for a night a few months back, which happened to be less “painting the town red” and more “surprise, we’re getting married right now.”

Served them right for placing bets.

Clint and Nat, however, were currently nowhere to be found. Bucky checked the name of the bagel shop they’d stopped at, double checked the street signs, then pulled his phone out of his pocket. No messages. “You said one, right?” he asked, pulling Steve onto the stoop beside him.

“Yeah.” Steve turned to do his own survey of the milling masses. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”

“Ah! Or they’ll find us.” Bucky jerked a thumb at a familiar redhead wrapped around a tall blond. Natasha’s legs encircled Clint’s waist, one arm around his neck and her free hand shielding her eyes as she scanned the crowd. Bucky raised his left arm, waving them over. Buying Nat lunch was in part a thank you for the fancy mesh thing that made his left arm look like flesh and bone. Leaving the house in lightweight clothing in a Manhattan summer was a godsend.

Natasha leaned down to speak to Clint, and he turned in their direction. Clint picked his way over, smiling when he got close. “I heard there’d be lunch. Your treat.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “I promised Natalia, but I guess I can feed you, too, bro.” He gave his friend a once-over. Clint’s white shirt bore two crossed black arrows, a purple and a gray heart to either side. “Nice shirt.”

“Thanks! Nat got it for me,” he said, beaming. He smoothed a hand over it before nodding at Buck. “She get yours, too?”

“Actually, yeah,” Steve answered, looking at the pink, purple, and blue ‘Stars AND Stripes’ design he wore. Bucky’s bore a star in the same color scheme as Steve’s. “I’m surprised she didn’t get us matching ones.”

Natasha laughed. “I did consider it.” Clint set her down; she straightened her outfit. A black tie kept her hair up, her white shirt and black shorts lacking rainbows of any sort, but when she turned back to Clint, Buck saw a tiny rainbow decorated her cheek. 

“I’m glad you two came out,” she teased, giving Steve an affection side hug and playfully shoving Bucky’s arm. “Clint and I usually skip the parade and watch it on TV, but it’s way more fun with friends.”

“Yeah,” Clint said, “I don’t go every year, and it’s futzing hotter than hell, but it’s nice to be out and wearing my colors.” He spread his arms. “I totally lucked out.”

Steve stared at Clint’s shirt, then up at him with big eyes bright with curiosity. Bucky tried not to laugh at Steve’s genuine excitement. “Colors?”

Clint nodded. “Grey, white, black, and purple. All my favorites.”

“You’re right, those are good colors,” Bucky said, narrowing his eyes slightly. He’d never put much thought into what his best bro might be into in the romance department. Like most people, he assumed Clint had something going with Nat, but no one had ever confirmed or denied it, and Natasha was kinda casually dating Sam. And yeah, Buck and Clint made out that one time. . .

Clint made no sign of noticing Bucky’s internal monologue. He shrugged, relaxed and comfortable. “What can I say? I’m an ace archer in more ways than one.” He smirked, pointing a finger gun at them.

Natasha giggled. Steve glanced at Bucky, then back to Clint, his eyes even wider. “So, you’re… ace?” He shook his head a little. “What’s that mean?”

Clint chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, a little off-kilter. He paused, and Buck could see him trying to figure out what to say. “Uh, well, it’s short for asexual. I guess the short answer, for me specifically at least, is I prefer kisses and cuddling to having sex. I don’t particularly look at a potential partner and think, ‘Yeah, I wanna hit that.’”

Oh. “And here you had me thinking you were a kinky sonofabitch,” Bucky said. 

“Never said I wasn’t. You know how much I love flirting and dirty talk, but you don’t know all my tricks, bro,” Clint purred, winking. “You saw that lap dance I gave Nat.”

Steve flushed, glancing around them. If anyone overheard, they clearly didn’t care. He supposed a part of them would always half worry about what they could get away with saying or doing out in public spaces.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna push it. Bucky’s lips curled into a devilish grin. “That so? I’m a fan of public sex. You know that swing joint we got married in? Stevie totally dommed me in one of those booths. No, like three years before. Man, it was fucking torture because he wouldn’t let me—“

The rest of Bucky’s words were suddenly muffled by Steve’s hand; he _felt_ Steve’s face burning beside him. Poor guy.

“What’s that?” Clint asked, cupping a hand to his ear. Natasha laughed softly, looking smug. 

Bucky removed Steve’s hand, continuing casually. “I begged for _hours_ and when he finally relented, I came so hard, I’m pretty sure I passed out. It was amazing. Best date ever.” 

Steve made a high pitched keening sound, flush spreading down his neck, and Bucky would bet good money it went all the way to his toes. Always his favorite kinda blush. 

“You okay, baby?” Bucky slung his arm around Steve’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You know you loved it,” he whispered. “I loved it. I love anything you do to, with, or for me.” Buck wrinkled his nose. “And you know you love it when I beg, even when I’m real bad at it.”

Steve lowered his head and chuckled. “I love you.”

Clint sidled up beside Steve, full-force flirtation in his voice. “You know, I beg real nice too, Stevie.”

Steve Rogers didn’t miss a beat. “I’m sure you would, but I can think of better uses for your mouth, Barton,” he shot back, cocking an eyebrow. Bucky snickered beside him. There was his fella, all sarcasm and sharp as nails.

Stepping into Steve’s space, Clint let his gaze roam as he trailed his fingers along Steve’s arm. “Where would you like me to start?” he asked, voice low, each word deliberate. 

Steve opened his mouth and Bucky snorted, patting Steve’s chest. “Trust me, bro, Stevie’s a lot to handle. I got decades of practice, and he still throws curve balls at me from time to time.”

“Me? I know you absolutely just used that as an excuse to feel me up in public,” Steve said, jostling Bucky’s shoulder.

“I’d never.” Bucky’s smooth grin vanished when Steve pinched his ass, startling a yelp out of him.

Clint scooted back, a slight blush on his cheeks as he laughed and winked at them. Natasha hadn’t stopped smirking, but Bucky caught the lightning fast glance she gave Clint, the slight change in her posture.

“You love me,” Steve said.

Buck settled his hands on Steve’s hips, loving the way absolutely no one paid attention to them, to their touches or closeness or the rings on their fingers. “Damn right, I do. Ain’t no one in this world I’d rather shackle myself to for all eternity.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Romantic.”

Nat and Clint both rolled their eyes, turn to each other, and pretended to gag. 

If Buck ever failed to rise to the bait, Steve would probably think he’d been kidnapped and replaced. He pulled Steve to him, hip to hip, and dipped him in the middle of the street, bending to kiss him a second later. Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky’s neck, parting his lips, licking at Bucky’s bottom lip.

An exasperated sigh interrupted them. “Way to go, Barton. Now we’re gonna starve to death,” Nat complained. “You’d think two supersoldiers would have mastered the quickie by now.”

“Oh man,” Clint whined, “and I really wanted noodles.”

Bucky broke the kiss and set his husband upright before turning to his best friend. “You could pay for your own futzing noodles, bird boy.”

“Well, that’s insulting, Barnes. I never buy my own noodles,” Clint scoffed. He gestured to Nat, asking if she wanted a ride. Nat grinned and nodded, hopping up on Clint’s back.

Oh, to be so deadly, yet so short. Bucky snorted. She kicked at him. 

“You promised me lunch, James. You’re paying up. For Barton, too. And you’re throwing in extra egg rolls for making us endure your sappy marital bliss outside the designated permitted area.”

Steve chuckled. “You’re extorting us because we kissed on the street?” 

Buck turned to her, narrowing his eyes. “Fine, but I’m not getting those weird jello-rice-cake dessert things.”

Natasha tossed her head, staring at him while speaking in Clint’s ear. “Betcha I can get us both fed, plus dessert, and an after lunch coffee before we even grab a booth.”

Clint smirked at his partner in crime. “You’re on.”

Bucky shook his head, took Steve’s hand, and led his friends down the street. They’d discovered this little hole-in-the-wall joint a couple months back. The food was excellent, and since tourists foolishly avoided the non-chain eateries, it wasn’t super crowded. Clint set Natasha down at the door and the four of them staked claim to a booth near the back. Buck scooted in, sitting across from Nat, with Steve next to him across from Clint. 

After they’d all ordered, Steve--who'd spent most of the walk over typing away at his phone--took a very deliberate sip of his water and looked straight at Clint. “So. Can I ask questions?”

Clint’s eyebrows shot up. He glanced at Nat, who shrugged, then looked back at Steve. “Yes?” Pause. “But I reserve the right not to answer, and I don’t speak for, you know, everyone. Just me. Personal experience.”

Steve nodded, his brow furrowed. “I guess, I don’t really understand. I googled ‘asexual’ while we walked and wow. I never gave much thought to it.”

“Yeah, well, everything’s a spectrum, right? Some people don’t have sex at all and some do, but never or rarely have the desire for it. Some want romantic relationships and some don’t. People.”

“Where do you fall?”

Clint took a drink. “Well, I’m not aromantic. Relationships—I’m not—I’m bad at them, but I do experience attraction, just not sexual attraction.” Steve tilted his head, blinking. “I mean I can see a person and think, yeah, they’re gorgeous. But uh,” Clint started. He licked his lower lip. “Okay. You see Bucky and you think, ‘wow, he’s hot, I wanna tap that,’ right?”

Steve cleared his throat. “Well, yeah.”

“Right. So I look at Buck and I think, ‘wow, he’s hot,’ but I don’t wanna sleep with him …maybe that was a bad example,” he added. “You know, best bros. Yeah. What I mean is I am attracted to people, and I want to spend time with them, maybe in not-really-dating-but-dating capacity, but I don’t wanna have sex with anyone.”

“You said you liked kink, though,” Buck said. “So when you say you don’t want to have sex. . .”

“When it comes to intimacy, I enjoy giving my partner pleasure. As for sex, I don’t . . .I’ve never been interested.”

“How?” Steve and Buck asked simultaneously. 

Clint shrugged. “Not my thing. Like I said, I enjoy flirting, kissing, and physical closeness. I got not problem with nakedness. I just don’t _like_ sex.”

“Huh.” Steve set his chin on his palm. “Have you ever?”

“What? Liked sex?”

Steve shook his head. “Had it.”

“Oh.” Clint smiled as the waitress brought out their meals, waiting until she left to look back at Steve. “Uh, yeah. I’ve had a couple different partners, various degrees of whatever. Depends.”

“If you don’t like sex, what sort of kink do you like?”

Buck choked on his water. “Stevie, that’s the kinda question you can only ask after you buy the guy dinner.”

Steve slowly turned to face him. “We just bought him lunch.”

Clint chuckled. “Kink doesn’t equal sex. You can see a dominatrix because you like that kinda thing, but largely those relationships don’t end in banging.”

“True,” Steve said. “Do you have a preference between men and women?” He took a bite of his spring roll and stole one of Bucky’s crab rangoon. Buck stole Steve’s second spring roll in retribution.

“No. It’s not really a qualifier I consider when choosing a partner, which I guess makes me bi- or pansexual. Like I said, spectrums.”

“Makes sense. I guess I’m on that spectrum, too. The same article mentioned demi-sexuality, and I thought that sounded like me.”

Buck raised his brows. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “Demi-sexuality is experiencing sexual attraction to a person after developing a strong emotional connection. I thought plenty of gals were pretty and a couple fellas handsome, but I’ve only wanted you, Buck. And Peggy. I’ve never felt sexual desire for anyone else.”

“Explains why I kept failing at matchmaking,” Natasha said, casually stabbing one of Steve’s shrimp with her fork. “Makes sense though.”

Buck pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “Yeah. Well, I’m honored. You’re the only guy I’ve ever wanted.”

“Does that change how you see yourself?” Nat asked.

He shrugged. “I like gals just fine. And Steve. Still bisexual as far as I’m concerned. Being married to a man doesn’t change that.”

“Women, Buck,” Steve chided. Buck rolled his eyes, devouring a forkful of noodles.

Natasha chuckled, popping one of those crispy wanton strips into her mouth. She crunched happily, looking around the table. “What? I don’t happen to have any personal revelations to share.”

Buck smirked. “So you and Clint?”

“Are exactly what you think we are,” she answered. “And you and me?”

“Are friends,” Buck answered. He paused, a thought dawning on him. “Well shit. I’ve slept everyone at this table except Barton.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Steve teased. “Guess we’re gonna have to change our tactics.”

Clint laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “You want another make out sesh, you got it, bro. Wine and dine me. Well, coffee. Coffee and . . .something. Does anything rhyme with coffee?”

Steve opened his mouth to retort; Nat flicked at wanton at him, hitting him in the forehead. She smirked, and then took a sip of her tea, one red brow arching. “So. What do we think of Sam?”

“Too straight for his own good,” Steve and Buck answered.

“I dunno,” Clint mused. “He could just be in denial.”

Steve fired back, the wanton bouncing off the end of Natasha’s nose. “We gonna ignore that bit about you and Clint?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “I’m pretty sure you two were together at some point. I just can’t figure out if you’re together now.” He shrugged. “But you did just offer to make out with me.”

“Yeah well,” Clint said, “who wouldn’t?”

“Sam,” Nat and Steve answered. 

Nat laughed and plucked the dessert list from the holder. “As long as we’re talking shop, we might as well enjoy something sweet. Especially if they’re buying,” she added, ribbing Clint.

Clint grinned and rubbed his hands together. By the time dessert arrived, they’d settled into debating which team Sam batted for, the relative hotness of their friends, and a lively round of Fuck, Marry, Kill that nearly got them thrown out of the restaurant.


End file.
